


So This Is Love

by merrymiscellaneous



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bisexual Lance (Voltron), Disney References, Disney World & Disneyland, Fluff and Humor, Gay Keith (Voltron), Happy Ending, Love Confessions, M/M, Pining Keith (Voltron), Pining Lance (Voltron), Slow Build, and i love klance, i just really love Disney okay, keith as a character attendant, klance, lance works in a gift shop, mostly pining lance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-17
Updated: 2019-07-17
Packaged: 2020-06-29 23:49:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,241
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19841092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/merrymiscellaneous/pseuds/merrymiscellaneous
Summary: For Lance, there are many perks that come with working in a Walt Disney World gift shop.An employee discount, a magical work environment, easy access to snacks, time in the parks with his friends—Lance could go on and on. But even with all those perks, nothing beats the opportunity to subtly ogle at the cute character attendant who works across the street. Which, in Lance’s opinion, might even be better than any employee discount.





	1. Once Upon a Dream

**Author's Note:**

> so this is my second klance fic!! CRAZY!! once again, another HUGE shoutout to my best friend for helping me figure out the title and the layout of this story bc tbh it wouldn't be posted without her :)) 
> 
> Klance honestly owns my ass at this point so I couldn't help but write a mushy fic of my two fave boys at Disney World!!  
> ANYWAY PLEASE ENJOY LOL

One of the perks of working at Walt Disney World, besides a _really_ _nice_ employee discount, is the opportunity to openly ogle at the character attendant who works in the Mickey Mouse line across the street. And for Lance McClain, that’s much better than any discount Disney World can offer. 

  
Working as a cashier in a small souvenir shop in the Animal Kingdom is less than ideal, but Lance is a broke college student and needs all the help he can get. Sure, he’s only a cashier, but this is  _ Walt Disney World. _

  
_ Yep,  _ Lance decides,  _ it doesn’t get much better than this _ . He plasters on his customer service smile as he hands back exact change to an old married couple. They’re buying matching tourist bucket hats from the shop (the ones with a picture of Mickey and Minnie Mouse smiling together on the front) to match the identical shirts they’re already wearing. Kind of tacky, but also kind of cute. 

The Hawaiian shirts they’re wearing compliment their brand new bucket hats very nicely. The woman places the hat on her husband’s head and grins, reaching for her phone to take a quick picture. The old man poses, popping his hip and pouting his lips in a duck face that could put any teenage girl to shame. His wife giggles and shakes her head, making a few comments under her breath that sound suspiciously like _ “work it.” _ The two walk away, side by side, grinning and whispering about sending the picture to their daughter and how mortified she’ll be. Lance smiles softly as he watches them go, wistfully thinking that he wouldn't mind having someone to wear tacky matching Disney outfits with. 

His job may not be the best at the park, but at least Lance gets to witness adorable moments like this. And if he ignores all the screaming children and angry parents, he can almost consider this a peaceful job. Maybe this job  _ is  _ a lot better than working as a character all day. 

...who is he kidding?

Okay, fine, so Lance’s job may not be  _ better _ than the characters, but at least he has air conditioning. Lance can only imagine how sweaty it is under those layered costumes all day. Although, Lance definitely wouldn't mind dressing as Mickey Mouse for the meet and greet across the street at the Adventurer’s Outpost—especially if it means he’ll be supervised by the same attractive character attendant. 

  
Lance risks another quick glance over his shoulder, hoping to catch a glimpse of the guy he has a somewhat painful crush on. When his eyes land on that signature Disney World blue polo, Lance’s heart climbs into his throat. 

Damn, that boy is prettier than any princess in the park. 

The character attendant is smiling and crouching down to talk to a small boy and his little sister. The little boy can’t be older than eight, but he’s holding onto his little sister like he’s an adult that can protect her from anything. Judging by the character attendant’s slow movements and encouraging smile, Lance guesses that the little girl is scared to see Mickey and Minnie in person. Lance watches (or rather, swoons) as the other boy talks to the two children, showing them the pins on his lanyard to calm their nerves.  _ Snap out of it, Lance _ , he wants to tell himself. A random (albeit, attractive) dude showing some kid some pins should not make his heart beat this fast. 

It’s the character attendant's job to somewhat entertain those in line and this boy always seems to do a great job. Despite his brooding exterior, Lance can tell he enjoys speaking to the children in line while they wait. Anyone in a ten-mile radius can see the way he genuinely smiles at them and compliments their outfits, making them laugh or talk excitedly about their favorite character. Lance appreciates the way the other boy bends down to play games with the kids to pass the time. (And not just because of the view, if you know what he means.) 

By the time it’s their turn, the little girl doesn’t seem as nervous. After a few seconds, she’s giggling and hiding her face in mother’s shoulder as Minnie compliments her dress. Lance can’t stop the content sigh that escapes when he sees the proud smile on the attendant’s face, the size of his crush growing larger with every soft grin. He shouldn’t be so in love with a boy he’s never even met. This is  _ insane _ . 

Lance leans up against the counter, dropping his head into his hands and sighing. This boy is far too cute for his own good. Attractive and incredible with little kids? It’s almost too much to bear. 

“Swooning over the boy across the street again, Lance?” His manager, Coran, interrupts his downward spiral of pining with a teasing tilt in his voice. Lance immediately jumps up, embarrassed to be caught in such a compromising situation. Luckily for him, there aren’t any other customers in the gift shop. If there were, Coran would have lectured Lance about the importance of focusing on the customers (again). Instead, the older man just smirks at him, leaning forward to whisper conspiratorially, “You know, I could put in a good word for you at Adventurer’s Outpost.” 

Lance flushes down to his toes, the tips of his ears burning red hot. “That won’t be necessary, Coran. But thanks.” 

Coran chuckles heartily, slapping Lance on the back and telling him not to stare too much as he leaves to go check the inventory. 

Lance will never recover from this mortification. He’s so obvious about his stupid crush on the character attendant across the street that his  _ manager _ noticed? Who else noticed? Lance looks around suspiciously. 

He’s lucky that Coran is such a cool boss. Lance heard that someone working on Main Street in a Magic Kingdom gift shop was fired just because they weren’t “cheerful enough.” And considering how often Lance is distracted by the Mickey and Minnie meet and greet, he definitely would’ve been fired if not for Coran’s relaxed demeanor. 

“Lance!” His coworker, Plaxum, calls as she waltzes in from the back storeroom. She’s carrying a mysterious cardboard box and a knowing smile, which Lance knows is  _ never  _ a good sign. “I’m supposed to update the window display, but if you want, I’ll cover the register and  _ you _ can put up these lights.” She gestures to the main window, batting her eyes innocently, but Lance can see the teasing grin threatening to break free. 

“I’m sure I can manage.” Lance chokes out, trying not to look too eager as he slides out from behind the counter and walks towards the large display window—the window that looks directly at the Mickey and Minnie Mouse meet and greet. Okay, so maybe Plaxum  _ also _ knows about his gigantic crush on the character attendant. He isn’t sure if he should crawl into a hole and die of mortification or thank her for the chance to discreetly ogle with a better view. 

And,  _ boy _ , is this a great view. From behind the counter, Lance can’t see the details of the character attendant's face, but from the window, Lance can see the small things he was missing. He’s discovered that the boy has two adorable dimples, one on either side, that appear as soon as a little kid in line says something particularly charming. And he has amazing eyes, framed by long eyelashes—Lance never thought such a dark color could be so breathtaking. And, if the boy turns his head just right, Lance can almost make out a small splash of freckles across his nose. Lance feels like he learns something new about the cute boy across the street every single time he has window duty. Which, luckily for him, is becoming a lot more frequent due to his coworker’s not-so-subtle attempts at matchmaking. 

Today, the character attendant has his black hair pulled back in a short ponytail, which is doing funny things to Lance’s heart. Some pieces have escaped his ponytail to frame his handsome face. Seriously, can this guy get any more attractive? It fascinates and infuriates Lance all at once. Somehow, he makes even a boxy Disney World polo and black pants look  _ good _ . This guy is a miracle worker. 

Trying and failing to focus on setting up Mickey-shaped twinkle lights, Lance’s mind (as usual) wanders to the other boy.  _ What’s his name? _ Lance has been wondering what to call this boy ever since he first saw him across the street. He hopes he won’t be referring to him as the Unbelievably- Hot- Character- Attendant- Guy- From- Adventurer’s- Outpost for the rest of his life.

Lance’s hand snags on a knot in the light cord, which he grudgingly pauses to untie. He bets his best friend Hunk doesn’t have to deal with these kinds of struggles. Hunk works in the kitchen at Cinderella’s Castle in the Magic Kingdom, which is far more glamorous than working in a small gift shop. Hunk is probably drizzling some fancy sauce on a royal dessert right now. The only thing that gives Lance comfort is knowing that Hunk shares a similar pining problem for a waitress in the castle, Shay. At least he isn’t alone in that aspect. 

When Lance finally unties the stupid knot from the cord, he moves to place the lights at the top of the window again. Aesthetic is everything, and even if this is just an excuse to stare at the boy across the street, he’s going to make it look good. But because he’s also a pining mess of a human, his eyes automatically gravitate towards the handsome character attendant—

—only to find the other boy looking right back at him. When he sees that Lance is looking his way, the other boy grins and waves before turning back to high-five a little boy in a Peter Pan costume. Lance nearly falls backwards in shock, heart hammering in his chest. The attendant just  _ smiled _ and  _ waved _ at him.  _ Is this some sort of heat-induced fever dream?  _

When he goes back to his place behind the register, he immediately pulls out his phone to text his other  friend, Pidge. She works in the Magic Kingdom just like Hunk, so she knows all about Lance’s crush on the boy across the street. She works as a photographer on Main Street USA, taking professional photos of large families and sickeningly sweet couples. Pidge usually stops by the souvenir shop whenever she can, but this just can’t wait. 

**To Pidgey: OH MY GOD???? THE BOY ACROSS THE STREET JUST SMILED AND WAVED AT ME**

**To Pidgey: I WAS IN THE WINDOW AND HE SAW ME**

**To Pidgey: HE’S THE PRETTIEST BOY I'VE EVER SEEN?? HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO CONTINUE WORKING AFTER THAT??**

Blushing, Lance rereads the text messages. Pidge is going to  _ flip _ when she sees them. She’s always interested in his hopeless pining. 

Lance feels hot air sweep through the gift shop, a telltale sign that a new customer is entering the store, and hurriedly slips his phone into his back pocket. It’s probably best that Lance gets back to work before he does something stupid like faint the next time he sees the boy from across the street. The thought makes him laugh. 

“Do you have a bathroom in here?” Someone asks, “I don’t want to walk all the way back to the employee restroom while I’m on my break.” 

_ Employee restroom?  _

“Oh—uh.” When Lance looks up, he freezes. 

It’s  _ him _ . 

It’s the unbelievably hot character attendant from across the street and he’s even more breathtaking in person. Lance flounders, completely taken aback by his presence inside the gift shop. His brain is running a mile a minute—the boy’s eyes are way prettier up close. Is that a scar just above his lip? Lance never noticed that before. He feels like he’s going to pass out. Maybe he shouldn’t have joked about fainting in front of this guy. 

The other boy smiles. “Hey! You’re the guy I saw in the window—” 

Oh god, he’s doomed. Cute character attendant guy  _ saw  _ Lance staring at him through the window. Maybe if he hurries, he can catch the noon monorail train so it can run over him and end his embarrassment. 

“—fixing the display. I like what you did with the lights. I’m Keith, by the way.” He sticks his hand out for Lance to shake, his grin friendly and welcoming. 

Lance melts on the spot. 

_ Keith _ . Somehow, even his  _ name _ sounds great to Lance. “Uh—hey, I’m Lance. You work across the street at Mickey and Minnie’s, right?” He asks, trying his best to act as if he doesn’t spend hours each day admiring the other boy from afar. With Keith standing this close to him with that charming lopsided grin on his face, Lance is fighting to speak full sentences.

“Yeah, that’s me. If you ever want to trade pins or need a compliment on your costume, I’m your guy.” Keith jokes, tugging on his colorful lanyard. Cute  _ and _ charming? Lance feels like he can’t breathe. Pidge isn’t going to believe this. 

“I guess I’ll start getting some pins as soon as possible.” Lance laughs. 

Then, because he’s an idiot and apparently loves to embarrass himself, he leans over the counter to reach the pin display on the other side. His eyes land on a colorful Mickey and Minnie pin near the edge of the display, which he hastily grabs. Lance straightens and holds out the pin toward Keith, grinning despite his rapid heartbeat. “Wanna trade?” 

Keith’s eyes light up at Lance’s surprise offer, tossing his head back in a full-belly laugh. Lance basks in the sound for a moment, noting that it matches the rest of his insanely attractive appearance. Lance feels giddy.  _ He’s  _ the one making him laugh like that. 

“A little eager, aren’t we?” Keith smirks, “Great choice, by the way. I happen to know Mickey and Minnie  _ personally _ .” Keith whispers conspiratorially, stepping forward until he’s pressed up against the counter, just inches away from Lance. He has never hated this stupid counter more. Keith holds out his lanyard. “Since I like that pin so much, I’ll let you pick any one you want.” 

“Lucky me,” Lance mutters—and he actually means it. He just hopes his voice doesn’t sound too shaky. His eyes land on a colorful Hercules pin, shimmering under the fluorescent lighting of the gift shop. Megara, one of Lance’s favorite characters, has her hip popped in a sassy pose and a sly smirk on her face. It’s incredible. “How about that one?” 

“Good choice,” Keith grins, popping the pin off his lanyard. “Meg is my favorite.” 

His favorite? Lance almost feels the need to get down on one knee and propose to this guy right now. “Mine too.” He chokes out, fumbling as he attempts to attach the pin to the front of his shirt. Keith smiles, watching him situate Meg in her rightful place. 

“I—” Keith’s watch beeps suddenly, cutting off whatever he’s about to say. He frowns, turning off his alarm and shaking his head. “Guess that’s my cue. My break is almost over. Can I use your bathroom?” 

Lance completely forgot the reason Keith came into the store in the first place. “Oh! Yeah—of course! Right back there.” 

Keith thanks him and leaves for the bathroom, giving Lance some time to catch his breath. Not only is the boy from across the street incredibly cute, but he’s also charming and hilarious. Lance is doomed. When he waltzed into work this morning, this was the last thing he expected. 

Keith emerges a minute later, calling over his shoulder, “See you later, Lance. You better take care of Meg.” 

Lance laughs and waves him off, ignoring the flutter in his chest. “Don’t worry, I will.”

———

Lance is in trouble. 

Even though he tried his hardest to avoid this type of predicament, Lance finds himself crushing  _ hard _ on the once-elusive character attendant across the street. 

Before Keith had wandered into the gift shop, Lance’s crush was merely an idea. It was completely baseless and Lance was 100% okay with that. If the boy across the street was just a stupid fantasy based on attractiveness, it could easily be dismissed as a stupid dream. Lance could tell himself that he didn’t even know the guy, or that the other boy was probably an asshole who only cared about his stupidly glorious hair. But now that Lance has actually spoken to Keith, his crush is only growing. He actually  _ experienced _ Keith’s charm firsthand and it was glorious. 

And, to make matters even worse, now Keith actually knows that Lance  _ exists _ . Keith starts to stop by and visit him on breaks to rant about particularly bad customers and enjoy the air conditioning. Even if it’s just for a brief time during their breaks, it’s nice to have someone to talk to. A few times, Lance finds himself walking across the street during one of his breaks to visit Keith at his line. They’re almost  _ friends _ . 

Which is great! And strange—but mostly great. He knows that he should be thrilled (ecstatic, even) that Keith recognizes him as a human being, but he can’t help but miss the time he used to spend secretly admiring the other boy from behind the counter. On slow days in the past, Lance spent most of his time staring dreamily out the window as Keith worked with children and reassured impatient parents. Lance saw firsthand how he commanded the attention of those around him, as well as secretly drooled over how delicious his broad shoulders looked in that blue polo. 

Now whenever Keith sees him in the window, he waves or makes funny faces in Lance’s direction. And because Lance is pathetic and hopeless, his heart stutters every single time Keith smiles at him. Gone are the days of staring for hours unnoticed, because now Lance is faced with the horrifying reality of actually being  _ caught _ staring. But, he supposes, it’s worth the risk if he can catch even a glimpse of Keith smiling softly at a little kid in line. 

So here he is, hopelessly pining for a boy that’s  _ supposed to be _ unattainable to him. 

So hopeless, in fact, that Lance finds himself absently skimming his fingers across the rough surface of his pin several times a day. He isn’t even aware he’s doing it until Hunk calls him out on it one day in the shop, gesturing to the pin with scrunched eyebrows. 

“New accessory?” 

Lance jumps, immediately pulling his hand away in embarrassment. He’d been busy staring at Keith across the street, watching as he gave a tight-lipped smile to a particularly annoying parent. He feels kind of bad for ignoring Hunk even though his best friend opted to spend his lunch break in the Animal Kingdom. Once a week, Hunk travels over to Lance’s gift shop for lunch before heading back to the Magic Kingdom for the rest of his shift. Although he feels a little guilty, Lance knows that staring longingly out the window has practically become second nature to him while he’s on shift. But at the sight of his reddening face, Hunk narrows his eyes. “Lance, where did you get that pin?” 

“J-just from the shop.” He answers, which isn’t exactly a  _ lie _ . Lance just happened to leave out its massive significance and how it’s all he’s been able to think about for days. No big deal. 

He hasn’t told anyone about the pin incident with Keith, afraid it might ruin the sanctity of the moment. It’s completely stupid, but he enjoys the somewhat teasing grins Keith sends him when he sees Lance looking in the window. It feels like they have an inside joke that only the two of them know about. Having something special with Keith makes his insides feel fuzzy. 

Hunk’s eyes slide back and forth between the main window and Lance several times, suspicious. “You seem to be pining more than usual—something happened.” 

Damn, Hunk is  _ good _ . He knows Lance like the back of his hand, which is simultaneously the best and absolute worst trait to have in a best friend. Sometimes it’s  _ scary _ how well Hunk knows him. “Well—” Suddenly, everything is tumbling out. 

He tells Hunk about the window fiasco and how Keith had waltzed into the gift shop looking for the bathroom (“Waltzed? Really, Lance?”). He quickly tells Hunk about his pin interaction with Keith, only pausing a few times to comment on how attractive or charming the other boy was in person. (“You already mentioned the scar above his lip twice, Lance.”)

When he’s done, Hunk leans back onto the counter and peers through the window. “You actually reached over and grabbed a pin? That’s actually pretty smooth. I’m surprised.” 

Lance scoffs, jumping up to sit on the front counter. “Hey! I’ve got moves! Keith was probably swooning all over me.” 

“You wish.” Hunk snorts. Lance laughs nervously, swinging his legs like a little kid.  _ Boy, does he wish.  _

“Believe me,” Lance insists, feigning confidence, “I’m completely calm and collected around Keith now.” Except for the part where his legs feel like jelly whenever he sees him across the street, but that isn’t important right now. 

“Interesting.” Hunk answers, eyes trained on the front door. “Well, good luck.” 

“Good luck with what—” Lance’s question is interrupted by the distinct chime above the door and someone new stepping into the gift shop. As soon as Lance sees an unruly mop of black hair, his heart rate triples. 

“Keith!” Lance yelps, scrambling to jump down off the counter. He tries to lean back against the surface in a way that looks calm and collected, but it must look about as awkward as it feels because Hunk coughs to smother his laughter. Lance sends him a dirty look. “H-hey! What’re you doing here?” 

Looking painfully adorable with his cute little ponytail and colorful lanyard, Keith grins, stuffing his hands in his pockets. “I have a fifteen minute break and I thought it would be nice to spend it in the air conditioning instead of melting outside.” He looks between Lance and Hunk, “Unless you guys were busy? Because I could always just—”

“No!” Lance yelps, “you can stay here! We were just—” He flounders, struggling to come up with something other than  _ talking about my massive crush on you. _ Hunk, thankfully, is quick on his feet. 

“—talking about some annoying customers I had at Cinderella’s Castle today. Some parents are so aggressive.”

Keith laughs, moving towards the two of them by the counter. The sound makes Lance’s chest tight. “Believe me, I know all about aggressive parents. Some people just don’t understand that I don’t control the speed of the line.” Both boys nod sympathetically, understanding the struggles of angry park patrons. 

“I don’t know how you do it, man.” Hunk chuckles, shaking his head, “The annoying customers  _ and _ no air conditioning? You’re my hero.” 

If Lance is already having trouble forming intelligent sentences around Keith before, all hope of eloquent speech flies out the window when the character attendant suddenly reaches up and pulls out his hair tie. Lance feels like he can’t breathe as Keith shakes out his dark hair, combing his fingers through it haphazardly. He says something jokingly to Hunk about the heat, but Lance doesn’t hear it. 

Lance has seen the other boy without his ponytail a few times, but it was  _ very _ rare and usually  _ very _ far away. But here Keith is now, standing in front of him with stupidly luxurious hair, acting like it’s nothing. Lance feels like he’s in some cheesy teenage movie where the protagonist sees the hot love interest and everything happens in slow motion. Keith must be saying something because his mouth is moving slowly and he turns to look at Lance expectantly, a small smirk playing on his lips. Keith pushes a piece of his hair behind his ear and Lance melts into a pile of mush.  _ God, if he could just run his hands through that hair, he would— _

“Right, Lance?” Hunk asks, elbowing him in the ribs  _ hard _ . Lance jolts, tearing his eyes away from Keith to see Hunk nodding meaningfully at him. 

“Uh—yeah.” Lance stutters, his face burning. He has no idea what he’s agreeing to, but Hunk has never led him in the wrong direction before. 

Keith’s eyes light up and he beams, which immediately sends Lance into another spiral of  _ holy shit this boy is too cute for his own good _ . He still has no idea what he’s saying yes to, but he’ll do it a million more times to see Keith light up like that. 

“Cool,” Keith bites his lip, smiling softly, “I’ll see you guys there.” 

This immediately sets off blaring alarms in Lance’s head. See them  _ where _ ? Oh god, he really needs to stop zoning out whenever Keith comes by. If he falls into another pining coma next time Keith walks into the store, there’s no telling what he’ll agree to.

“We’ll be there!” Hunk calls, waving as Keith leaves the small gift shop. They both watch him walk back across the street in silence. 

Once he’s gone, Hunk immediately turns to Lance. “Calm and collected? Are you kidding me?”

Lance groans, plopping his head into his hands miserably. “He’s just so cute.” 

Hunk smirks. “Well, I’m glad you think so! Because we just agreed to go out to dinner with Keith and a few of his other coworkers.” 

Lance’s head immediately shoots up. “We  _ what _ ?” 

Hunk smiles devilishly at him, grabbing his stuff and heading for the front door. “That’s what you get for staring dreamily at Keith instead of listening to the conversation.” 

He takes it back. Hunk is purposely trying to ruin Lance’s life. 

———

_ What outfit do you wear to a friendly coworker dinner that will impress your crush without letting him know that you’re trying to impress him? _

Lance ponders this question as he paces in front of his closet, stepping over piles of recently discarded clothes. He still has two hours until Hunk comes to pick him up, but after running through several different outfit combos, he’s still undecided. How formal should he dress? How casual? 

Keith is probably going to look effortlessly gorgeous as always, but that’s unsurprising. This is their first time meeting outside of work, so Lance needs to make sure he’s looking his best. If he impresses Keith and his friends tonight, there might be more dinners with Keith in the future. No pressure. 

After several more unsuccessful attempts at finding an appropriate outfit, Lance decides he needs to pull out the big guns—and by  _ big guns _ , he means calling Hunk for help. His best friend always knows what to do, especially if it involves cooking or Lance’s outfit choices. He has Hunk on speed dial for this exact type of life or death situation. 

As soon as Hunk picks up the phone, Lance immediately launches into full freakout mode, skipping the pleasantries. There’s no time to say “hello” or “how are you?” when impressing Keith is at stake. “Fashion Emergency, Hunk. I’m dying.” 

Lance can practically  _ hear _ Hunk rolling his eyes. “I’m sure that’s not true.” 

“This is serious! I don’t know what to wear.” Lance whines, flopping backwards onto his bed in defeat. “I’ve already gone through at least nine outfit combinations and none of them are good enough to impress Keith.” 

Hunk is silent for a moment, mulling over Lance’s dilemma. He understands the importance of tonight’s dinner. Lance already likes Keith  _ so much _ that it hurts sometimes and this is the perfect opportunity to spend some quality time with him outside of work. That’s why Hunk agreed to the dinner in the first place. Even when Lance doesn’t know it, Hunk is always looking out for him. 

“Wear that blue patterned button-up t-shirt. You know which one I’m talking about—the one that makes your eyes pop.” Hunk answers, “And wear that with that pair of nice shorts you wore to Pidge’s birthday party last year. They make your butt look really good. For shoes, I would probably wear your new Vans, but it’s totally up to you.”

Then, as an afterthought, Hunk adds, “But if I see you in those ugly flip-flop things, I’m leaving you at home.” 

Lance snorts. “True friendship.” 

Ignoring Hunk’s lack of faith in his fashion choices, Lance quickly rushes around his room collecting the articles of clothing Hunk suggested. His room is an absolute mess of discarded clothes so it takes him longer than necessary to find everything, but once he has them all, he lays them on his bed to study the choices. 

It’s perfect. “Hunk, buddy. You’re a  _ genius _ .” 

Hunk snorts, clearly smug. “Obviously.” 

“Seriously, what did I do to deserve you? I owe you a million cups of coffee.” 

Hunk’s laughter echoes through the speaker. “That’s okay, letting me make a speech at your wedding about how I brought you two together will be payment enough.” 

Lance makes a strangled noise and drops the shirt he’s about to hang up in his closet. It’s a good thing Hunk isn’t there in person to make fun of his bright red face. “I’m hanging up now.” He croaks. 

This sends Hunk into another fit of laughter. Whoever said Hunk is an angel is a  _ liar _ and clearly doesn’t know him as well as Lance does. Under those layers of kindness and warmth, he’s just as bad as Pidge. “I’ll be at your house in a little bit. Feel free to call with any more dinner-prep emergencies.” 

———

By the time Hunk comes to pick him up, Lance is practically a ball of nerves. He keeps fidgeting in his seat and checking his hair in the mirror, trying and failing to smooth it down so it’s somewhat manageable. 

“It’ll be okay.” Hunk reassures, but Lance is still mildly terrified. 

He  _ really _ wants things to go well tonight. Not only because he doesn’t want to completely embarrass himself in front of complete strangers, but also because these are  _ Keith’s _ friends. If they like him, Lance might actually have a shot with Keith.

It’s a quick ride over to the address Keith gave them, a small family restaurant on the outskirts of the Disney-owned property. The two of them take a deep breath and step inside. Lance is practically shaking with nervous anticipation. Keith spots them as soon as they walk in, meeting Lance’s eyes with a bright smile and an enthusiastic wave. Some of the tension in Lance’s shoulders dissipates at the sight of his warm smile and sparkling eyes, which is a little pathetic but also pretty comforting. 

“You guys made it!” Keith greets them enthusiastically, ushering towards their table. He turns to Lance, a soft smile on his face, and lowers his voice so only he can hear it, “I’m really glad you’re here.” 

He’s looking absolutely  _ breathtaking _ as usual, somehow looking like a model in casual clothing and sneakers. If Lance was having any doubts before, they’ve immediately vanished at the sight of Keith’s genuine smile. If he closes his eyes, Lance can almost imagine that smile is reserved just for him. 

Keith works his way around the table slowly, introducing his other coworkers to Hunk and Lance as he goes along. He discovers that Keith’s brother Shiro and their friend Romelle are the people behind the Mickey and Minnie Mouse costumes at Adventurer’s Outpost, even though Romelle sometimes escapes the stuffy inside of her costume to fill in as Tinkerbell in the Magic Kingdom. 

“So you’re Lance, huh?” Shiro asks politely, reaching out to give him a strong handshake, “I was wondering when Keith would introduce us to the infamous  _ gift shop boy _ !” 

“Shiro.” Keith groans, flushing a deep scarlet and sending his brother a pointed look. Shiro beams, raising an eyebrow at Keith but keeping any other comments he has to himself. As they move on to more introductions, Lance can’t stop thinking about the blush on Keith’s cheeks and the knowledge that  _ he _ was a topic of conversation amongst the brothers. 

Adam, Shiro’s fiancé, works as an animal keeper in the park, which Lance thinks is possibly the coolest thing ever. The happy couple retell the story of how they met while working in the park together and Lance tries not to let his eyes linger on Keith for too long. 

Lance also quickly learns that the group refers to their friend Allura as “princess” whenever they address her, saying things like “my apologies, Princess” and “of course you would think that, Princess.” She works as Disney royalty in the Magic Kingdom and carries her regal attitude with her even outside of the parks. Allura and Hunk immediately hit it off, complaining about the annoying parents in the castle for meet and greets. 

Keith sits next to him throughout the whole dinner, their elbows touching and their knees bumping together periodically. Every time Keith leans in a little closer, electricity seems to zing through Lance’s body and leave him feeling warmer and happier than before. It’s a great night with even better people, and Lance can’t even begin to remember why he was so nervous in the first place. 

———

That’s why he’s so surprised when Hunk tears into the shop the next day, racing up to Lance with an excited grin on his face. He sidesteps a small child standing in the middle of the aisle and screeches to a halt in front of Lance.

“Get ready to absolutely  _ love  _ me.” 

Lance doesn’t look up at him, answering without hesitation, “I already love you, Hunk. It’s impossible not to.” 

Lance is busy trying to fit as many Disney World snow globes as he can onto the clearance shelf, which is easier said than done. With their odd shape and limited shelf space, Lance is going to have to get creative. After attempting to stack one on top of another and failing miserably, Lance turns to Hunk, in need of a good distraction. “What happened?” 

“I just had the best idea.” Hunk singsongs, a wide grin stretching across his face. By this point, Lance is ready to abandon all hope of fitting the snow globes onto the tiny shelf. Noticing his defeat, Hunk grabs a snow globe off the shelf and shakes it, watching the specks slowly float to the bottom. Lance rolls his eyes, exasperated and fond. 

“That’s a hefty brag, Hunk.” 

Hunk stares back at him expectantly, waiting for Lance to ask him what his brilliant idea is.  _ Okay _ , Lance supposes,  _ I’ll bite _ . “The best idea? What is it?” 

Hunk lights up, practically bouncing up and down in excitement. “So, I was on my way to the gift shop and I ran into Keith—”

“Keith?” Lance interrupts, his heart racing. Somehow, he feels butterflies in his stomach every time someone even  _ mentions _ Keith. Which is unbelievably  _ pathetic _ , but also very unsurprising. After months of admiring him and now hanging out with him, Keith seems to be the only thing on his mind. 

Unconsciously, he looks over his shoulder toward the main window. Even though there are some customers blocking his view as they mill around the shop, Lance knows Keith is standing outside controlling the Mickey Mouse line. The other boy stopped by the gift shop during his lunch break earlier, but Lance hasn’t seen him since. He’s already having serious Keith withdrawals. 

Hunk rolls his eyes, waving a hand in front of Lance’s face to get his attention again. “Yes,  _ that _ Keith. Please leave all dreamy, pathetic smiles until the end.” 

Lance’s head snaps back towards Hunk with an indignant frown. “Hey! I wasn’t—”

“ _ Anyway _ ,” Hunk says meaningfully, sending Lance an unimpressed look. “I was talking to him and he told me that he has never had a real Disney World experience in the Magic Kingdom. Isn’t that insane? I mean, the guy literally works at the parks and—”

Lance’s brain is working in overdrive, trying to figure out where his best friend is going with this story. Hunk’s shaking his head, completely baffled, and continues to ramble on about how cool the Disney parks are. When it doesn’t seem like he’s going to stop speaking anytime soon, Lance grabs his shoulders. “Hunk,” Lance interrupts, “What are you saying?”

Hunk rolls his eyes. “This is your chance, dude!” He answers, waving his arms wildly, “Take Keith on the ultimate Disney day around the park!” 

Lance’s heart rate triples at the mere  _ thought _ of what Hunk is implying. Spending the entire day in the Magic Kingdom—with Keith. Images of the two of them strolling through the park eating Mickey Mouse ice cream pops flash through his mind. The two of them riding Splash Mountain. Keith smiling at him while they stand in line. 

Oh, Lance is  _ so _ screwed. 

“Hunk,” Lance mutters, unaware that he’s been silent for almost a full minute, “You’re a  _ genius _ .” 

Hunk smirks, shrugging his shoulders in false modesty. “You may have said that once or twice.” 

Lance shakes his head, running his hands through his hair. “Hunk, I’m serious. This is the best idea you’ve ever had.”

“And you know what makes it even better?” 

Lance shakes his head, motioning for his best friend to continue. “What?” 

“A little birdie told me that Keith  _ also _ has the day off tomorrow.” Hunk adds, batting his eyes innocently. 

Lance’s head immediately snaps up toward the main window once again, his heart beating out of his chest. This is it. This is his chance. He  _ has  _ to ask him. 

“I have to ask him.” Lance echoes his thoughts, trying to ignore the way his palms are already sweaty and his head is spinning. 

Hunk nods enthusiastically, pushing him towards the door. “Ask him now! I’ll tell Plaxum you’ll be right back.” He nods his head towards the girl at the front counter, which is apparently the last push Lance needs. 

Suddenly, his feet are moving at their own accord and he finds himself walking out the door and across the street. Before he reaches Keith, he turns back to look into the gift shop. Hunk gives him two thumbs up through the window, nodding his head encouragingly. 

Lance steels himself.  _ Be cool, be cool, be cool, be cool, be cool— _

“So,” Lance begins, sliding up to where Keith stands beside the stream of people. There’s a growing gap in the line, so the other boy motions for distracted families in the back to move forward. Lance pauses, taking another deep breath, and continues, “I hear you have the day off tomorrow.” 

Lance silently prays Hunk’s “little birdie” is correct. 

Keith doesn’t take his eyes off the moving line, but Lance sees his lips twitch with a ghost of a smile. “Yeah?”

_ Disney Magic is real.  _

“So do I.”

Keith rolls his eyes, his grin growing. “And what exactly are you suggesting?” 

_ A date _ , Lance’s mind supplies as Keith bends down to compliment a little girl’s Rapunzel dress. He wants to take Keith on a date around Disney World and hold his hand and share Mickey shaped desserts and do all the things he watches cute couples do in the park. He wants to wander through gift shops and buy matching touristy hats just like the older couple in the gift shop. He wants  _ Keith _ . 

Instead of sounding like a total lovesick fool, Lance takes a moment to compose himself. “Me, you, the Magic Kingdom—the full experience. Rumor has it, you’ve never actually had a real Disney day at the parks. That means we’re doing rides, food—everything.” Lance lightly bumps Keith with his shoulder. At the sudden contact, Keith tears his eyes away from his line for the first time since he arrived. “You in?” 

“I guess Hunk told you then.” Keith muses, shaking his head. He doesn’t look surprised. 

“Obviously,” Lance nods, “so, what do you think?” 

He holds his breath for a moment, waiting anxiously for Keith’s answer. Maybe he has other plans, or maybe he doesn’t want to hang out with Lance, or maybe—Lance’s mind runs through millions of negative possibilities. 

Keith chews his lip thoughtfully. Lance follows the movement with his eyes, entranced. “So you’re saying you want the two of us to spend our day off from

Disney World...at Disney World?” He cocks his head to the side, apparently skeptical, and Lance’s heart swells. This boy is  _ really _ cute. 

“That’s  _ exactly _ what I’m saying.” Lance answers, secretly  celebrating  that Keith hasn’t protested to spending the entire day with him. He doesn’t even seem fazed that Lance is apparently making plans for the two of them now. 

Keith ponders his proposition for a moment, eyes trained on the last few stragglers in the meet and greet line. As they pass, he politely tells them to get their cameras ready for plenty of Mickey and Minnie photo ops. Lance is amazed by how easily he can slip in and out of his cheery character attendant persona. One minute he’s teasing Lance and smirking, and the next he’s waving families forward with fluid movements and a polite smile. It’s fascinating. 

Once he’s sure all the families have their cameras ready and the line is moving at an acceptable pace, Keith turns back towards Lance. His polite smile slips for a moment, revealing a teasing smirk that is so distinctly  _ Keith _ that it makes Lance’s knees weak. “You better show me one hell of a good time, McClain. I need the whole Walt Disney World experience.” 

Keith is obviously teasing him, eyebrow raised and chin jutted upward, but Lance doesn’t even care. He feels like his heart is doing a cheerleading routine in his chest.  _ Go, Lance! _ his heart cheers, jumping around erratically and celebrating his success. Hunk is an absolute  _ genius _ . Spending an entire day at Disney with Keith? The Magic Kingdom is truly the most magical place on Earth. 

“You got it!” Lance squeaks, his excitement getting the best of him. He can’t  _ believe it _ . His mind is instantly cluttered with endless possibilities of how they can spend their day.  _ They can see the castle and meet some characters and— _ he has  _ a lot _ of planning to do tonight. 

Lance starts walking backwards across the street, not willing to take his eyes off Keith until it’s completely necessary. The other boy is smiling brightly at him and shaking his head, trying to act like Lance’s excitement isn’t contagious. He’s  _ beautiful _ . “Meet here at nine o’clock. We have to get an early start!” He calls. 

Keith waves him off, smiling fondly. “Get back to work, Lance.” 

Lance's back bumps into the doors of the gift shop with a soft thud. Instead of admiring Keith until the park closes like a lovestruck idiot, he decides he should probably head back inside. Although it’s an incredibly tempting idea, he doesn’t want Coran to throw a fit. Lance opens the door, turning back to look at Keith one last time. He’s still watching him with raised eyebrows. “Tomorrow. Nine o’clock. Get ready to have the time of your life.” 

For the rest of the day, Lance is over the moon. No customer is too annoying, no child is too loud. When a field trip group of over twenty people walk through the doors, Lance doesn’t even roll his eyes or groan. Not even Plaxum’s endless teasing can get to him. 

“You seem very chipper for the end of a weekend shift, Lance. Excited for your day off tomorrow?” She has a knowing look on her face, which means she probably heard about his plans with Keith from Hunk. 

Instead of being embarrassed or flustered, Lance happily packs up his belongings to go home. “I’m thrilled.” He answers, and this time, he isn’t being sarcastic. 


	2. Kiss the Boy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The more time Lance spends in the Magic Kingdom, the more he believes that Disney magic is real. If this whole day is a dream, he hopes no one ever wakes him up. 
> 
> aka Keith and Lance vs. Walt Disney World

The next day, Lance shows up to the park extra early, practically vibrating in excitement. He was up half the night making an itinerary of the best rides and food spots in the park. Hunk and Pidge both suggested plenty of places, though one of Pidge’s suggestions included sharing a spaghetti dinner Lady and the Tramp style. Which—maybe it isn’t the worst idea. Either way, Keith is in for a good time. 

As Lance rereads his list for the millionth time, he can’t help but shake his head. He has to hand it to himself, he might’ve singlehandedly planned the best day in existence. “Not too shabby, Lance. Not too shabby.” He mutters to himself as he digs through his bag of Disney essentials, pushing aside a bottle of the strongest SPF sunscreen he could find and a compact first aid kit. 

“First-aid kit?” A voice asks, “What the hell did I agree to?” 

Lance jumps a mile in the air, startled out of his self-congratulating stupor. “You made it—and with one minute to spare!” 

Lance looks up to congratulate him on his promptness, but when he sees Keith, the words get caught in his throat. There’s Keith, standing in front of him in his full laid back glory, somehow still looking like a goddamn model. He’s wearing a pair of athletic shorts and a loose red tank top, which shouldn’t look as appealing as he’s somehow making it look. His hair is tied in a low ponytail, just high enough to keep it off his neck, but a few short pieces have escaped to frame his face nicely. With a start, he realizes that this is technically the second time he’s ever seen Keith without his signature blue polo ensemble. The casual clothes he’s wearing now somehow make his body look even better—if that’s even possible. Right now, the only thought in Lance’s mind is how incredible Keith’s arms are, which doesn’t bode well for the rest of the day. Lance has to  _ focus _ and make sure today is the best goddamn day Keith has ever had. 

Keith must’ve noticed Lance studying (aka admiring) his outfit because he weakly pulls at the fabric of his tank top. “Is what I’m wearing okay? I didn’t know how to dress so I just tried to remember what other people wore to the parks.” 

Lance swallows, eyes lingering on Keith’s bare arms. “It’s perfect.” 

Keith grins, sliding up next to Lance and peering into his bag of essentials. “This is quite the goody bag. I’m a little nervous about what you have planned.” 

“Don’t worry, you’re going to  _ love _ it.” 

———

The Magic Kingdom is  _ packed _ . Thousands of people are milling around excitedly, pointing at Mickey-shaped balloons and the shining castle in the distance. A little boy in a Peter Pan shirt zooms by with his arms spread out like a plane and Lance smiles. He can practically  _ feel _ the magic of Disney all around him as they walk down Main Street USA. 

Keith is watching everything with wide eyes, struggling to take in so many things at once. “Wow.”

His voice is small and breathless, completely awestruck by the beauty of the Park. For some reason, Lance’s heart swells. “This is what you’ve been missing, Keith.” He teases, gesturing towards the smiling families and the Disney paraphernalia surrounding them. 

Keith nods slowly, his eyes flickering to each new sight around them. If he’s this impressed by Main Street, he’s in for one hell of a ride today. “There’s so much going on. What are we doing first?” 

Lance grins, grabbing Keith’s wrist and pulling him through the crowd. Keith opens his mouth to protest and ask where the hell they’re going, but Lance is a man on a mission. They weave around families taking pictures and sidestep around slow-walkers peering into passing shop windows. Lance tries not to think about how he’s practically  _ holding Keith’s hand _ or the fact that Keith is practically  _ letting _ him. 

Lance finally stops in front of a large gift shop, bouncing up and down excitedly. The building is twice the size of his usual shop, filled to the brim with Disney merchandise and clothing. “First item on the agenda: accessories.”

Keith fixes him with an unimpressed stare. “Accessories?” He repeats. 

“Of course!” Lance answers, rolling his eyes like it’s the most obvious thing in the world, “C’mon, Keith. I’m giving you the full Disney experience, remember?” 

Keith sighs, exasperated, but Lance can tell he’s hiding a grin. “If you insist.” 

Together, they shuffle through the gift shop. Keith tries to take in everything all at once, but it’s almost impossible due to the overwhelming amount of people and merchandise in the store. The rows of shelves look endless and there are graphic T-shirts in every size and color imaginable. Lance instantly locks in on what he’s looking for: the Mickey Mouse ear station. 

Buying Mickey Mouse ears is a classic Disney World staple. Whatever kind of style or color you want, this station can make it happen. Do you want your name embroidered on the back? No problem. Do you want your ears based on a character? Of course. Bedazzled? Already done. 

And Lance is prepared to get anything Keith wants, no matter the price. He wants to make sure Keith has the best Disney day  _ ever _ . And if that means buying colorful Mickey ears, Lance is more than happy to comply. 

“First things first: Mickey ears. This is a  _ classic _ Disney World accessory.” He spreads his arms dramatically to show Keith the entire wall of headpieces. “Pick whichever one you want.” 

Okay, maybe not  _ whichever _ one he wants—Lance is working with a Disney World gift shop salary. But Keith doesn’t seem like the kind of guy who would add expensive bells and whistles to anything, much less a pair of theme park ears. 

Keith’s eyes widen. “Are you serious?” 

“I don’t joke about Mickey ears, Keith.” Lance answers solemnly, walking over to get a closer look at the different designs. 

“Good to know.” Keith hums, sliding up next to him. 

Lance’s eyes land on a pair of fuzzy pink ears with the words “Princess” scrawled across the front. A tiny, gold crown is attached between the ears. He smirks, holding them out towards Keith. “This would look  _ incredible _ on you, by the way.” 

Keith snickers, taking the ears and placing them on his head. Posing, he turns back to Lance and flutters his eyelashes. Lance’s soul immediately leaves his body.  _ Is this what heaven feels like?  _

“I could totally rock these.” 

Lance snorts, picking up another pair of ears to distract himself. He needs to do something with his hands. If he doesn’t, Lance is afraid he might do something stupid like reach over and push that stray piece of hair behind Keith’s ear. “Sure thing,  _ princess _ .” 

Lance looks up, expecting Keith to roll his eyes and scoff. When no sarcastic comment is thrown back in his face, Lance sneaks a quick glance his way. Keith is frozen, standing ramrod straight like he’s been struck by lightning. The tips of his ears are  _ bright _ red. 

Lance’s stomach drops, momentarily terrified that he made Keith uncomfortable. If he already messed things up with him after only ten minutes at the park, he was screwed—

Keith clears his throat, looking anywhere but Lance. His lips curl into a ghost of a smile. 

Oh. Keith is  _ flustered _ . 

_ Shit _ . Charming and confident Keith is getting all blushy over a small pet name? This is information that Lance never knew he needed until now. Before Lance can even make a comment or process the fact that he is making Keith  _ blush _ , the other boy is picking up a different pair of ears to inspect. 

“These aren’t bad.” He mutters, turning over the ears in his hands skeptically. This one has the classic Minnie Mouse style, plain black ears with a cute polka dot bow between them. Although there’s also a sparkly version of the same pair, Keith immediately gravitates toward the more subtle of the two. Lance, on the other hand,  _ does _ gravitate toward the extravagant one and picks up a pair for himself. 

Clearing his throat and stepping forward, Lance gestures to the pair in Keith’s hands. “Try them on!” He refrains from adding a comment about how cute Lance thinks he is—and that’s a pretty big accomplishment. 

Keith rolls his eyes with a laugh, sliding them onto the top of his head. The red of the polka-dot bow compliments the leftover flush on his cheeks. “So what do you think? Am I Disney ready?” 

And, wow—Lance was completely unprepared for how utterly adorable Keith would look in Minnie Mouse ears. He really should’ve thought this through and prepared for this moment. The sight of Keith in Minnie Mouse ears is absolutely glorious, and Lance now feels like he can die a happy man. 

Keith’s joking and Lance knows he should probably joke back with a stupid response about how he “totally isn’t ready” for what he has planned, but the only thing that comes out of his mouth sounds completely sincere. “You’re perfect.” 

And Lance finds that he genuinely means it. 

Keith smiles at him. Lance smiles back.

They stand there for a second like complete idiots, just smiling at each other and holding different versions of the same style of ears. Keith opens his mouth to say something, but soon closes it in surprise as a small child bustles between them, eager to look at the ears along the wall. The moment is broken, and as they head towards the cashier to pay for their ears, Lance can’t help but wonder what Keith was going to say. 

———

Once they’re out of the shop and back on Main Street, Lance unfolds his itinerary and quickly skims over his plan for the day. When Keith tries to look over his shoulder, he immediately stuffs the paper back into his pocket and sends a sharp look over his shoulder. “No peeking!” 

Keith rolls his eyes. “Well can you at least tell me where we’re going next?”

“Definitely not.” 

Rolling his eyes, Keith goes back to studying his own map of the park skeptically. He points to the attractions that sound familiar to him, hoping to figure out where Lance is taking him next by process of elimination. “I know Space Mountain is pretty popular and I have no doubt that you’re going to drag me onto It’s a Small World at some point today. I’ve also heard that—”

“Slow down, dude. There’s one ride that we have to do before going to lunch, so I thought we could get that out of the way now.” 

Keith doesn’t like the evil grin on Lance’s face, so he tells him exactly that. “I don’t like that evil look on your face.” 

“You have nothing to worry about!” Lance says, but somehow, Keith doesn’t believe him. Once he sees that Lance still isn’t going to tell him where they’re going, Keith dejectedly stuffs his map into his pocket and decides to just  _ let it happen.  _

“Fine, let's do this.” 

“That’s the spirit!” Lance cheers, pointing in the direction of their unknown destination. “I knew you would come around.” 

The Mad Tea Party ride at Walt Disney World has always been a McClain family favorite. More commonly known as “that one teacup ride,” it’s always been one of his favorites despite the childish simplicity of the experience. When Lance was a kid, his family would make a b-line straight for the teacups and ride them over and over again until they couldn’t walk straight. In Lance’s opinion, it was the perfect ride to officially begin Keith’s immersive Disney experience. 

Because Lance is excellent at planning and  _ very _ lucky, there’s only a small line in front of the Mad Tea Party. Keith grins when Lance stops at the end of the line, raising his eyebrow in challenge. “The teacups? Interesting first choice, McClain.” 

“Simple yet satisfying—it's a family favorite in my household.” 

When they finally reach the front of the line after a relatively short wait, Keith quickly nudges Lance and whispers, “Let’s go in the yellow one.” 

As they enter the ride, they practically  _ sprint _ to the pastel yellow teacup, weaving around a slow-moving family so they can secure the  _ best _ one. If Keith wants the yellow one, Lance is going to stop at nothing to get it for him. Luckily for them, they easily make it there in time. The two of them slip into their seats, giggling like children and situating themselves across from each other. He tries his hardest to ignore the way their knees are touching. Lance places his hands on the middle spinner, hands thrumming with energy. 

Keith  _ also _ puts his hands on the middle spinner, bouncing up and down in his seat. He watches the other people enter their inferior teacups with an excited grin on his face, ready to start as soon as possible. In his excitement, Keith doesn’t seem to notice that their hands are overlapping. Or that they’re  _ touching _ . But for Lance, who is hypersensitive to anything that has to do with Keith, it’s the only thing he can notice. His breath catches in his throat as Keith’s hand brushes across his.  _ If Lance moves his hand an inch or two, he can grab Keith’s hand and— _

“Why did you choose this ride first?” Keith asks, interrupting Lance’s less-than-platonic thoughts. He looks up at him curiously, genuinely interested. 

Pushing those thoughts aside, Lance smiles devilishly. “We couldn’t do this ride after lunch.” 

“Why?” 

The bell rings above their heads and the ride whirs to life beneath them. Around them, the teacups slowly begin to spin around each other. Lance smirks, his grip on the handle tightening. 

Growing up with so many siblings has taught Lance many valuable things. He learned responsibility, how to shift blame, how to make incredible pillow forts—but Lance’s favorite thing he learned from his siblings is how to make the teacups spin so fast that they break the sound barrier. When Lance was younger, his older brother would spin the ride at such a fast pace that it felt like they were entering another dimension—Keith deserved the exact same treatment. And he has  _ a lot  _ of practice spinning his younger siblings over the years. 

The first time Hunk went on the Mad Tea Party with Lance, he lost his lunch in a spectacular fashion. Pidge still teases them to this day for making the mistake of eating lunch right before Lance’s wild spinning. After that, Hunk refused to go anywhere near the teacups if Lance was within a two hundred mile vicinity. Hunk also made him swear he wouldn’t take anyone else on the teacups after lunch ever again—and who was he to disrespect a promise to his best friend?

Unlike Hunk, Keith seems to  _ love _ Lance’s spinning. The momentum presses him against the back of the teacups and he can’t help but laughing loudly as Lance picks up speed. His face hurts from smiling too much and his knuckles are white from holding on too tightly to the handles, but Keith hasn’t had this much fun in a while. Everything blurs around him and the stresses of the outside world are lost. To Keith, it almost feels like they’re protected in their own little bubble—even though that bubble feels like it’s moving at the speed of light. Lance’s arms are burning as he struggles to maintain top speed, but the unbridled joy on Keith’s face puts everything back into perspective. 

As the ride finally slows down, Lance finally has the chance to appreciate Keith’s disheveled appearance and the wide smile that overtakes most of his face. Looking at Keith and knowing that  _ he  _ is the reason he’s smiling like that makes Lance feel dizzier than any teacup ride. Keith  _ deliberately _ places his hands on top of Lance’s on the middle wheel and suddenly Lance can’t breathe.

“That was  _ great _ .” Keith cries, sounding breathless and giddy. His eyes are sparkling and his hair falling out of his ponytail and— _ wow _ . 

Lance leaves the Mad Tea Party with his heart beating quickly and his legs feeling like jelly—but this time, it’s not a side effect of the teacups. 

———

Walking back towards the castle is much more difficult than either of the boys anticipated due to their spinning heads and lack of balance. Keith laughs the whole way, leaning heavily on Lance for support. He’s pressed flush against Lance’s body, their hips connected and a haphazard arm flung around his shoulder. It’s safe to say that Lance feels _ amazing _ . 

After finally recovering from the teacups enough to stand up properly, the boys hop around the park for a few more shorter rides until they find themselves standing in front of Cinderella’s Castle. They’re both wearing their matching Minnie Mouse ears and holding a bag of blue cotton candy between them (it was Lance’s idea—he’s always had too much of a sweet tooth). 

“The castle?” Keith asks, staring up at the majestic building before them in awe and confusion. Both of them have seen the castle logo a million times, whether it be on their uniforms or on various merchandise, but nothing compares to the real thing. They have to crane their necks to see the top, but the view is definitely worth it. 

Lance nods, slinging his backpack across his shoulders and taking another piece of cotton candy. “It’s one of my favorite places in the entire park.” He feels like a child again, his entire body thrumming with excitement at the idea of exploring inside the castle. “Also, Hunk is in there—so that’s always a plus.” 

Hunk is  _ always _ a plus, especially when he’s willing to help Lance with an elaborate plan to woo his long-time crush. Because his best friend is an angel, Hunk miraculously found a way to secure the two of them a reservation for lunch inside Cinderella’s Castle on such short notice. It wouldn’t have been possible for anyone else, but since Hunk is a high ranking chef on the staff, he was able to pull a few strings. When Lance asked him how he could repay Hunk for going out of his way to help him with his plan, his best friend only replied with a smug, “Putting an end to your pathetic pining is payment enough, buddy.” 

Which— _ ouch _ —but Lance supposes that’s fair. He’s been updating Hunk with every new discovery he’s made about Keith for months now with the same dreamy look in his eyes. He still can’t believe that he’s here, standing in front of Cinderella’s Castle with the ghost of Keith’s body heat lingering against his side and the back of his neck. 

“Let’s head inside! You’re in for quite the treat, Mr. Kogane.” In a weak attempt to maintain physical contact, he holds his arm out for Keith to take (because he’s a  _ gentleman _ , okay?). No matter how pathetic it is, Lance desperately craves his touch and full attention. 

Luckily for Lance, he steps forward and hooks their arms together as they enter the castle. “Don’t mind if I do, Mr. McClain.” 

The inside of the castle is grand and ornate, just as a person would expect it to be. Keith cranes his neck to admire the high, arched ceilings above them with wide eyes. Their shoes echo on the tile floor until they reach red carpets and velvet ropes that lead them up towards the dining room. Lance can’t help but bask in the sophistication of the detailing of the room or the air of importance surrounding each part of the castle. He has fond memories of exploring the castle on his family’s Disney trips. The McClain’s used to go to the princess breakfasts so they could meet and take pictures with various Disney characters. He’ll never forget the look on his little sister’s face when Ariel entered the room and walked up to their table. He hopes Keith will have a positive experience as well. 

“Hello, welcome to Cinderella’s Royal Table,” a fancy looking man greets them as they approach the door of the dining room, “do you have a reservation?” 

Lance steps forward, straightening his posture in false confidence and pushing aside any worries that Hunk’s reservation isn’t going to work. “Table for two under McClain.”

The man looks down at his sheet quickly, scanning for his name on the reservation list. When he looks back up at the two of them, a wide grin replaces his polite smile. “Chef Garrett’s guests! Of course, right this way.” 

He leads them over to a table right in the middle of the room, placing menus and silverware over their place settings. “Hunk requested that you two be given the best seat in the house.” Lance laughs, appreciating his best friend more and more by the minute.  _ Of course  _ Hunk would do everything in his power to give them the VIP treatment. “Shay will be over in a minute to help you with whatever you need. Enjoy!” 

_ Shay _ ? The waitress with the “beautiful brown eyes and the prettiest smile in the entire universe” that Hunk couldn’t stop gushing about? He’s been pining for  _ months _ over this girl. Although he wasn’t as bad as Lance, Hunk never shut up about his new crush. He briefly wonders if this placement was intentional. Either way, he can’t wait to officially meet her. 

As the two of them reach their table, Lance makes a big show of pulling out Keith’s chair like a gentleman in a very  _ Lance _ fashion. The other boy laughs and rolls his eyes at the formality, curtsying to him in return. A family from another table sends them strange looks, but neither of them seems to care. 

Once they’re settled in and studying their menus, Lance starts to notice that Keith keeps looking at him strangely from across the table. He’ll stare for a few seconds, pause as if he wants to say something, then look back down into his menu. After the cycle repeats for the eighth time, Lance puts his menu down and leans forward. “You okay?”

Keith looks startled, like he’s been caught doing something he didn’t want anyone else to notice. The tips of his ears are bright red. “Yeah, everything is perfect.” He answers, his voice soft and sincere. 

“Good, because you deserve the best.” 

His words visibly affect Keith, who hides his flushed face behind his menu for a few seconds to compose himself. Lance quietly wonders if this is the first time Keith has ever been truly cared for, which makes his heart hurt even more. 

“I appreciate how much work you’ve put into this whole Disney trip, Lance. It really means a lot to me.” 

“Anything.” Lance says quietly—and finds he genuinely means it. 

They fall into companionable silence for a moment, content with being together. Then Keith leans forward, whispering like he’s about to reveal some sort of secret. “Is it stupid to say I feel like royalty?” 

Lance snorts. “Of course not,  _ Prince Keith _ .” 

Keith snorts and rolls his eyes at the nickname, but still pretends to bow nonetheless. 

When Shay arrives at their table to take their drink orders, Lance can’t help but grin. She’s beautiful and so incredibly kind that he immediately understands why Hunk likes her so much. Even after only a few minutes interacting with her, he can already tell she would be a good match for his best friend. It makes his heart feel warm and content—sitting in Cinderella’s Castle on his day off with his crush while he meets the girl his best friend has been pining over for months. Lance doesn’t think it could get any better than this. 

When she leaves their table, Keith leans forward, holding the menu in front of his face to hide what he’s about to say. “That’s the waitress Hunk has a crush on, right?”

Lance laughs quietly, nodding his head in approval. “Yeah, that’s her. She seems pretty nice, right?” 

“Definitely. I think they would make a good couple.” Keith answers, grinning like an idiot and trying not to make his glances in her direction too obvious. “I wonder if he’s going to come over to visit us and  _ accidentally _ run into her.” 

Lance smirks, looking toward the kitchen. “He better.” 

Their meal passes without any complications, which Lance is thankful for. Shay is an amazing waitress, the food is spectacular, and Keith keeps doing this cute thing where he nudges Lance with his foot to get his attention—as if his attention is ever  _ not _ on Keith. When Hunk comes over to check on them with a large plate of free dessert in his hands, Lance just about explodes from happiness. Free dessert, Keith’s company, and Walt Disney World? He doesn’t know if anything could ruin this perfect day. 

“It’s on the house,” Hunk chuckles, dropping a decadent chocolate dessert into the center of the table, “nothing but the best for my two favorite guests!”

“Thanks, Hunk! This looks incredible.” Keith says earnestly, looking at the dessert with wide eyes. 

“I could only sneak one of those bad boys out of the kitchen, so you two will have to share.” Hunk shrugs, pretending to look apologetic, but sends a sly wink in Lance’s direction when Keith isn’t looking. Lance flushes down to his toes as he suddenly understands the romantic implications of sharing a fancy dessert in Cinderella’s Castle. Hunk looks smug. 

Lance quickly decides that he  _ might _ owe Hunk his life for all this special treatment. 

———

Once they’ve finished their fantastic meal in the castle, Lance is fulfilled and ready to go kick some more ass around the park. They still have to meet characters, go on rollercoasters, try different park foods, and—

“What’s next?” Keith asks, trying to sneak another peek at Lance’s crumpled itinerary. He’s leaning into Lance’s personal space which is  _ amazing _ , but he won’t let this moment of weakness ruin his whole plan. Even though Lance secretly wishes Keith could be this close all the time, the other boy needs to learn how to _ trust the process. _

“Pidge!” Lance answers, grabbing Keith’s hand and tugging him back in the direction of Main Street. For the next item on their agenda, they need to find Lance’s little gremlin of a best friend. 

“Pidge?” He echoes, sounding incredulous. Keith’s grip on his hand tightens in confusion, but he still lets Lance drag him nonetheless. 

Lance turns back to grin at him, hoping his smile looks reassuring enough. Instead, he nearly trips over his feet as he turns around to see Keith’s adorably scrunched eyebrows and head tilted in confusion. Because he’s predictable and pathetic, Lance’s heart melts.  _ Listen _ , he’s a weak man—especially when it comes to Keith being undeniably attractive. 

“Don’t worry, you’ll love this.” Lance chokes out, turning back around to lead them through the crowd on Main Street. 

Lance tries not to focus too hard on the feeling of Keith’s hand in his own, but once again fails miserably. His logical brain attempts to rationalize the hand-holding as something  _ necessary _ to avoid separation in the sea of people or a way to hurry Keith along, but his emotional brain has already turned to mush. When Lance imagined holding Keith’s hand and walking through Magic Kingdom together, this isn’t  _ exactly _ what he envisioned, but at this point, he’ll take what he can get. Any sort of contact was enough to create tingling sensations and set his heart racing.

Lance heads straight towards the Main Street Confectionary, a sweet shop on the corner where his photographer friend likes to station herself around. He sees a big family huddled together in front of the castle in the distance, a glimpse of choppy brown hair, and the flash of a camera. Lance smirks. 

“Pidge!” 

The small photographer turns around slowly, her lips curling into a matching smirk when she looks between the two boys. Her eyes follow the stretch of his arm down to their clasped hands before pointedly looking back at Lance. She raises her eyebrows in question and he flushes. 

“Funny seeing you here, Lance.” She teases, readjusting the camera strap around her neck with an evil gleam in her eye. Turning to Keith, Pidge holds out her hand for him to shake. “I’m Katie, by the way. My friends call me Pidge.”

Keith beams, taking her offered hand. “I’m Keith. I work as a character attendant across the street from Lance.” 

“So I’ve heard,” she answers, eyes flickering to Lance for a brief moment as if to say  _ oh, believe me, I’ve heard too much _ , “it’s nice to finally meet the boy across the street that Lance talks so much about.”

Lance suppresses the sudden urge to throttle Pidge or melt into a puddle of embarrassment and  sends his friend a pointed look (which she obviously ignores). He almost wants to be upset with her for calling him out so blatantly, but then he sees Keith’s poorly-concealed  _ pleased _ smile and decides maybe it’s not so bad if Keith knows that Lance likes to talk about him. 

“ _ Anyway _ ,” Lance interrupts before Pidge can say anything else to embarrass him, “since it’s Keith’s first trip to Magic Kingdom, I thought we needed some photographic evidence to commemorate this accomplishment.” 

Keith laughs and follows Pidge’s directions as she tells him where to stand and how to pose, then drags Lance into a few pictures with him. They stick their tongues out, throw up peace signs, and make funny faces until their stomachs hurt from laughing too hard. 

“Any other pose ideas?” Lance asks once he catches his breath, watching as Keith falls into another fit of giggles and wipes any tears from his eyes. Once he calms down a little more, Keith chews on his lip thoughtfully, studying the other people around them for any other photo inspiration. Families gather together for future Christmas card photos and couples wrap their arms around each other for lovey-dovey Instagram posts. Keith frowns. 

After a moment, he sighs and shakes his head dejectedly. “I don’t know any good poses.” 

Lance doesn’t think Keith needs any poses to look cute, but he decides to keep that thought to himself. He can think of  _ one _ classic pose for pictures in front of the castle, but refuses to mention it in fear of sounding stupid or reading the situation wrong. At a few points throughout the day, it almost seemed like Keith  _ liked _ him—Lance isn’t going to risk messing that up in any way. 

Keith turns toward Pidge, who’s fiddling with her camera as they decide. “You have a ton of photo-taking experience—what’s the most popular pose? I want to be  _ cliché _ .” 

Lance chuckles at the emphasis, enjoying Keith’s sudden determination to make the best of his Disney experience. But as he follows Keith’s gaze towards Pidge, his laughter dies in his throat. There’s a mischievous glint in her eyes that makes his stomach lurch nervously. That’s  _ never  _ a good sign. 

“Well,” she drawls, tugging on the strap of her camera and trying to look as innocent as possible, “there are plenty of cliché  _ couple _ poses.” 

“Couple poses?” Lance echoes, his heart beating wildly in his chest. He doesn’t know if he should thank Pidge for what she’s implying or murder her. He looks at her with wide eyes, but she continues. 

“Yeah, you know—couple poses. The most popular one is the dip in front of the castle. It’s sort of iconic.” 

“Dip in front of the castle?” Keith asks, his head tilting in confusion. If Lance wasn’t so distracted by thoughts of pure panic, he might’ve stopped to admire the quirk of his eyebrow or the way he’s biting his lip. 

Pidge shrugs, attempting to look nonchalant despite the blatant set up she’s creating. “Usually one person dips their significant other like they’re about to kiss in front of the castle. I guess it’s supposed to be pretty romantic.” 

Lance shuts his eyes momentarily, praying to every higher power he can think of to save him from this embarrassment. The thought of the two of them—it’s too much for Lance’s weak heart. Maybe he should take a shuttle over to Hollywood Studios and throw himself off the top of the Tower of Terror. 

Lance is positively mortified. When he finally opens his eyes after having a mini breakdown and consoling himself with a rousing pep talk, he finds Keith staring back at him with a strange look on his face. He almost looks conflicted—like he’s not sure how to process what Pidge is suggesting. Lance doesn’t understand how he could’ve ever thought that Keith would return any of his romantic feelings. As he’s about to say something to avoid an awkward rejection from Keith, the other boy quickly cuts him off. 

“Let’s do this, McClain.” 

Lance sputters. “ _ W-what _ ?” There is  _ no way _ he could’ve possibly heard him correctly. Keith wants to do a romantic dip pose in front of the castle? With him? Lance decides he must be dreaming. So far, this entire day must’ve been some vivid hallucination induced by pathetic amounts of pining. It’s the only reasonable explanation for this type of reaction from Keith. 

Pidge looks equally shocked by Keith’s boldness, her eyes widening comically. She only suggested the pose as a way to subtly tease Lance about his colossal crush. She likes to watch Lance squirm, but she never thought Keith would  _ actually go for it _ . “Damn.” She mutters, somewhat impressed. 

Keith smirks, walking towards the castle with his arms outstretched and shouting over his shoulder, “C’mon, Lance! Be a man and dip me in front of this Princess castle.”

“Never thought I would hear those words.” Lance mutters, attempting to slow his rapid heartbeat. 

He looks at Pidge helplessly, hoping for any kind of encouragement or assistance, but instead she just nudges him towards Keith. “Enjoy this.”

Keith stands in front of the castle with his hip cocked, beckoning Lance forward with a shit-eating grin on his face. “If I’m having the full Magic Kingdom experience,” he teases, “I need the most cliché picture possible.” 

Lance nods numbly, his feet mindlessly moving towards him. “I guess that makes sense.” 

“Okay,” Keith nods, taking a deep breath like he’s trying to steady himself, “so you’ll dip me?” 

“Uh—yeah! Of course.” Lance steps closer. Now that they’re practically toe-to-toe, he can see the light freckles splattered across Keith’s nose and the scar above his lip with total clarity. It makes him dizzy. He attempts to discreetly wipe his sweaty palms on his shorts. For the first time in years, Lance feels like a nervous teenager at a high school dance.  _ Where are his hands supposed to go? How close is too close? Why are his palms so sweaty?  _

“I won’t bite, you know.” Keith whispers, chuckling softly at his apparent hesitation. Lance laughs nervously, praying that the blush crawling up his neck isn’t too noticeable.

As Keith slowly reaches up to wrap his arms around Lance’s neck, all brain function immediately stops. They’re so close and in such an intimate position that Lance’s heart is going crazy. He flounders for a moment, unsure of where to put his hands, before placing them gently on Keith’s hips. He distantly wonders if Keith can hear the thunderous sound of his heartbeat from this proximity. 

“You got me?” Keith mumbles as he starts to lean back slowly. His eyebrows are scrunched together and he’s biting his lip in concentration, focusing more on his stability than the sensation of intimate physical contact. But it’s okay—Lance is doing more than enough intimate focusing for the both of them. 

“I got you.” Lance answers breathlessly. It almost sounds like he’s trying to convince himself this is actually happening rather than reassure Keith of his safety. If he couldn’t feel the solid muscle beneath his fingertips or Keith’s breath fanning over his face, Lance would almost believe that this is just some amazing dream. He’s holding Keith in his arms at  _ Walt Disney World.  _ Lance is quite literally living in a fairytale. 

People are milling around them on Main Street, taking cliché pictures of their own, but Lance pays them no attention. How could he? The only thing he has the mental capacity to focus on is the feeling of Keith’s arms looped around his neck and his hands on the other boy’s hips. They’re breathing the same air and Lance feels a little dizzy at the proximity. It would be so  _ easy _ to just lean down and—

“You two ready?” Pidge calls suddenly. Without taking his eyes off Keith, Lance already knows that she’s smirking devilishly from behind her camera. 

Lance’s legs practically turn to jelly as Keith looks up at him through his eyelashes, grinning excitedly. “Ready whenever you are.” 

Even though he’s been dreaming about being in this type of position with Keith for months, Lance really hopes Pidge will hurry up and take the picture. He isn’t sure how much longer he can handle being this close to Keith and  _ not _ leaning down to kiss him. Sooner or later, Lance’s resolve is going to crumble and his stupid heart will take over. 

Some of these thoughts must’ve shown on his face because Keith’s eyes widen a little bit in surprise. His grip tightens around Lance’s neck and he slowly raises an eyebrow, almost challenging him to do something. Is Keith—?

“Alright, I got it.” 

“Can we see it?” Keith asks, sending one last lingering look in Lance’s direction before moving to look over Pidge’s shoulder like an excited little kid. Lance doesn’t immediately follow, too shaken up to see the picture right away. Instead, he takes a shaky deep breath to calm himself down after whatever  _ that _ was. How the hell is Lance supposed to continue with his plan like nothing happened? Hunk was right, he really is doomed. 

As soon as he sees the picture, Keith’s face immediately lights up. He laughs happily and the visual reminds Lance of their first meeting in the gift shop, Keith throwing his head back to laugh at his smooth pin-trading attempt. Lance definitely never thought he would find himself here—dipping Keith in front of the castle—after meeting him that first time. His heart swells. 

“Pidge, that’s great! We look exactly like a cliché couple.”

“What can I say?” She shrugs, scanning their Disney bracelet to transfer the photos to them. “Make sure to frame those, lovebirds.” 

Somehow, Lance finally finds his voice to speak. “Thanks, Pidge, I really appreciate it. We’ll see you at the fireworks show, right?” 

She nods, readjusting her camera strap around her neck and stepping away to find another family to take portraits of. “Yeah, of course! I wouldn’t miss those for the world.” 

“Perfect! You and Hunk can meet us in our regular spot before the show.” He turns to Keith, grinning like a madman, “C’mon, if we don’t hurry we might miss our fast passes.” 

“Fast passes?”

Pidge rolls her eyes, shooing the two of them away. “Have fun, losers!” 

———

Okay, so  _ maybe _ Lance didn’t completely think this through. 

The next ride they went on was Splash Mountain, which was absolutely incredible as usual. The look on Keith’s face when they finally hit the drop was  _ priceless _ and Lance knew he wouldn’t be forgetting that expression anytime soon. 

But now here they are, standing outside after their ride almost completely soaked with water. More importantly,  _ Keith _ is soaked. Which means his loose tank top is sticking to his skin in a way that makes Lance feel like he’s suffering from heatstroke. He’s dizzy, his skin feels hot, and his heart might beat straight out of his chest. Maybe he needs to go for another dunk on Splash Mountain. 

Because they’re total idiots, they decided to sit in the area that Lance deemed the “Ultimate Splash Zone” in the front row on the right side. Now they’re soaking wet and Lance is trying (and failing) to look anywhere but Keith’s glistening arms and his muscular chest. Keith doesn’t seem to notice this obvious and distracting predicament, too busy grinning and squeezing the water out of his hair. Lance looks like a drenched rat after the water ride, but somehow Keith looks attractive even with his stupid bangs sticking to his forehead. 

All Lance has to say is:  _ Wow.  _

For the last couple of weeks, Lance hasn’t been able to function properly around Keith and these  _ images _ are only making things much worse. Keith has always had a bad habit of being the most beautiful thing Lance has ever seen, and it’s honestly starting to get on his nerves. Lance can’t eat, he can’t sleep, he can’t do  _ anything _ because his crush on Keith has grown so strong that it overpowers all other basic function. 

Pidge is right, he really is pathetic. 

“That was awesome!” Keith repeats for the seventh or eighth time since they left the ride, grinning from ear to ear. Lance loves his enthusiasm—it almost makes all this insufferable pining and embarrassment worth it. 

“It’s always been one of my favorites.” Lance answers, then suddenly lowers his voice to a whisper like he’s about to tell an important secret. He beckons Keith closer conspiratorially, looking around him to see if anyone is listening. The other boy immediately moves closer, his eyes wide and expectant. Instead of telling him a secret, Lance shakes out his hair like a dog, splashing Keith in the face with leftover water from the ride. 

Keith sputters and pushes Lance away, laughing as he wipes off his face. “You’re such an asshole!” 

_ Yeah _ , Lance thinks,  _ maybe riding Splash Mountain wasn’t such a mistake after all.  _

———

The boys spend the next few hours jumping from roller coaster to roller coaster. First they hit Space Mountain, then Thunder Mountain Railroad, then It’s A Small World (twice), then a Buzz Lightyear shooting game where Lance absolutely  _ demolishes _ Keith. After wobbling off the rides on shaky legs, the two of them decide they’re ready to grab a snack and head towards the fireworks. Lance wants to get the best view possible for Keith’s first Disney fireworks show. 

“I think it’s time for some dessert,” Lance announces, stopping abruptly in front of a seemingly random stand. He stops so quickly that Keith nearly runs right into him, too distracted by the details of the park to properly watch where he’s going. The turquoise sign above the stand reads “Aloha Isle Refreshments” with a picture of some pineapples underneath it. When Keith eyes the sign skeptically, Lance grabs his wrist, tugging him towards the counter. “Dole Whip is a  _ classic _ Disney treat.”

“Dole Whip?” Keith repeats, still sounding skeptical. 

“It’s really good, I swear.” He assures, “It’s my mom’s favorite. My family thinks it’s the only reason she’s so willing to visit Disney World all the time.” 

Keith grins at that. “She must be a smart lady.” 

“Dole Whip is basically pineapple ice cream that totally rocks. Hunk forced me to try it one time in the Animal Kingdom and it’s been my favorite thing ever since.” Lance nods solemnly, gesturing to the menu above them. 

“If your mom  _ and _ Hunk will vouch for it, I’m in.” 

Once they both grab their dessert, Lance pulls them away from the middle walkway so he can watch Keith’s reaction when he takes his first bite. After lifting his spoonful carefully and examining it for a brief moment, Keith tastes his ice cream. Lance revels in the way his eyes widen comically and he eagerly shovels another spoonful into his mouth. He tries not to be too smug about it but fails miserably. 

People are already starting to gather in front of the castle for the fireworks display, so Keith and Lance have to weave around families claiming their spots as they follow the flow of traffic towards Main Street. Luckily they’re still a little early so there’s plenty of open space around Lance’s usual meeting spot with Pidge and Hunk. The two boys fall to the ground in a heap, exhausted from the excitement of Magic Kingdom and their feet aching in the best way. 

“Today was really amazing, Lance.” Keith says quietly, bumping their shoulders together with a soft smile, and the air  _ whooshes _ right out of Lance’s lungs. He feels like no matter how many times he’s on the receiving end of that adorable smile, Lance will never truly be prepared for it. 

“Uh,” Lance says intelligently, his mouth working faster than his brain in the presence of the other boy, “I’m glad you had a good time.” 

“Maybe I’ll just have to find a way to thank my amazing tour guide.” Keith mutters, eyes locking on his for a heated moment. 

“Yeah?” Lance waits with bated breath in tense silence, focusing on the intensity of his gaze and the curve of his long eyelashes. Keith’s eyes flicker down to his lips before quickly sliding back up to his eyes, a movement so quick that Lance wouldn’t have noticed if he hadn’t been staring directly into his eyes. Lance feels warm all over, dizzy and light-headed as the two of them begin to lean forward—

“You guys made it!” Hunk’s voice cuts through the sexual tension like a knife, making Keith jump backwards in surprise at the intrusion. His dark eyes widen comically as he spots Pidge and Hunk walking up behind them and Lance just about wants to die. Even though there were hundreds of people milling around them for the fireworks show, for a moment Lance had felt like they were the only two people in the world. Keith’s eyes are now trained on the concrete below them, a red hot flush creeping up his neck and covering the tips of his ears. Lance watches him for a moment, his heart constricting painfully in his chest. 

“Yeah, I thought you two were gonna get lost somewhere.” Pidge jokes, either unaware of the awkward tension or choosing to ignore it. Lance doesn’t say anything, just shakes his head and sends Hunk a look that clearly says  _ are you kidding me? _ His best friend has the decency to look apologetic, mouthing back a quick  _ sorry _ before settling down next to them. He graciously leaves a good amount of space between them that isn’t suspicious, but also gives Lance and Keith some privacy if they want it. Lance narrows his eyes at Pidge, who just shrugs in response. 

Surprisingly, Keith is the one to finally speak up. He recovers quickly enough from his surprise, but if Lance squints, he can still see a dark blush on his cheeks that refuses to fade. “I’m excited to watch the fireworks, so I forced Lance to take us here early.” 

They fall into companionable conversation after that, the four of them somehow always steering the conversation towards teasing Lance. Hunk and Pidge tell embarrassing stories about him that Keith eagerly listens to, adding comments and little stories of his own that simultaneously make Lance want to crawl into a hole and die of embarrassment and laugh along with Keith’s bright smile. His heart feels full. 

The crowd begins to cheer as the castle glows with projected light and the park around them dims, signifying the start of the show. Cartoon characters and bright colors are projected onto the castle like a drive-in movie. Pidge swats Hunk’s shoulder so he’ll quiet down, leaning forward eagerly. Pidge helped create the program that makes the show possible, configuring all the lights and music to play in sync, so she thinks of it as her pride and joy. Lance beams. 

_ “And they all lived Happily Ever After…” _

Keith gasps softly next to him, eyes wide and mouth dropped open in surprise. Sitting here, ass hurting from sitting on the concrete too long and feet aching from exhaustion, Lance thinks he’s never been happier. Instead of focusing on the show he’s seen a hundred times, he watches the lights cast multicolor shadows across the smooth planes of Keith’s face. His gaze lingers on the scar above his lip (again) and the splash of freckles over his nose. The next song plays and a new landscape projects onto the Castle—Princess Tiana singing about the Evening Star—and Keith keeps the same gentle look of awe as he watches. The sound of the first fireworks exploding in the atmosphere startle Keith, who jumps in surprise as the golden sparks crackle across the sky. Lance huffs out a quiet laugh, breaking the silence between them. 

Keith meets his eyes, childishly sticking out his tongue at Lance for laughing at him. Instead of immediately turning back to the firework show, they smile softly at each other like two dopey idiots for an extended moment. The dazzling lights and colors dance in Keith’s dark eyes, which makes Lance’s stomach swoop like he’s riding the Tower of Terror. 

Their magical day at Disney must’ve completely disintegrated Lance’s rational thinking and any brain-to-mouth filter he has, because before he knows it, he’s blurting out the only thing on his mind before he can stop himself. “You’re beautiful.” 

Lance sucks in a terrified breath, suddenly worried he crossed a line or made Keith uncomfortable.  _ Of course _ his lack of filter would somehow lead to his downfall. Keith looks surprised for a moment, an unidentifiable emotion flashing across his face, before his eyebrows set in a determined expression. Keith’s eyes flicker between his eyes and lips a few times and Lance feels like he’s on fire. 

Keith reaches out and cups Lance’s cheek softly as he leans in, his touch gentle and careful. He’s a little shaky, but so is Lance. He isn’t sure if he's ever anticipated a kiss this much before in his entire life. Months and months of pining has been leading up to this exact moment—Lance has been daydreaming about kissing Keith since he first saw him through the gift shop window. 

_ Oh _ , Lance thinks hazily, his brain feeling foggy as he tries to comprehend everything going on around him.  _ Oh, oh— _

As their lips brush lightly for the first time, Lance feels like there’s electricity coursing through his body. Despite its softness and innocence, the contact has every nerve ending in his body positively  _ singing _ . When Keith kisses him again, this time with more confidence and determination, Lance moves his hands to rest at his waist and tries desperately to ground himself. Keith is  _ kissing _ him—a sweet press of his lips that’s firm and intentional and makes him feel a little dizzy. Keith tastes like pineapple Dole Whip. 

_ “And at last I see the light, and it’s like the fog has lifted. And at last I see the light, and it’s like the sky is new...”  _

As they slowly pull away, Lance keeps his eyes closed for a few seconds longer to memorize the sensations around him—the pleasant weight of Keith’s hand on the back of his neck, the soft melody of  _ I See the Light  _ from Tangled floating through the air, the low vibrations of exploding fireworks pounding in his chest (or maybe that’s the sound of his heart?). 

_ “And it’s warm and real and bright, and the world has somehow shifted. _ ” 

Lance feels off-balance and giddy. When he finally opens his eyes, he finds Keith biting his lip to keep a shy smile from overtaking his face. And because Lance is only human, this action draws his eyes right back down to Keith’s  _ lips _ . Without any fear or hesitation to stop him, Lance leans down to kiss him softly one more time just because he  _ can _ and practically melts when Keith smiles against his lips. The bright fireworks pale in comparison to the adoration in Keith’s eyes and the glowing smile on his face. 

_ “All at once, everything is different, now that I see you.”  _

People begin to  _ ooh and ah _ again as the animation across the castle changes to a scene from Aladdin, effectively pulling the two of them out of their own little world and back into the present. No matter how much Lance wants to continue kissing Keith under the light of the fireworks, he realizes that  _ maybe _ they should pay attention to the show before it ends. Lance spent most of the day talking excitedly about the special effects and colors so he should probably let Keith focus. But it’s definitely a shame for Lance because now he found something even more breathtaking to look at. 

Keith sits up straighter and Lance almost immediately mourns the loss of close contact. He pouts a little, nudging the other boy petulantly with his elbow, and Keith thankfully seems to understand the message. With a fond eye roll, he leans back onto Lance’s chest and rests his head in the crook of his neck. The loose strands of Keith’s hair tickle his chin a little bit, but Lance isn’t stupid enough to even  _ dare _ moving out of such an ideal situation. He’s waited months for this moment and there’s no way he’s going to let it go to waste. 

In this position, he can’t see Keith’s cute reactions as he watches the show, but he  _ can _ easily see the smug little glances Hunk keeps sending their way. When he catches Hunk’s eye, his best friend sends him a subtle thumbs up and Lance can’t stop a big, dopey grin from stretching across his face. 

_ Yeah,  _ Lance thinks,  _ Disney is definitely the most magical place on Earth.  _


	3. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance receives a little gift from his fairy godmother :)

When Lance returns from his lunch break the next day at work, he’s surprised to find an envelope addressed to him behind the gift shop counter. His name is written on the front in scrawled handwriting, and when Lance flips it over, he finds several poorly drawn winky faces.  _ Enjoy these ;) _ is written in bold letters below. 

He looks around him to see who could’ve left the envelope, but finds that Coran is the only other person in the gift shop. “Hey—uh, Coran? Do you know who left this for me?” 

Coran looks up from his clipboard, furrowing his eyebrows. “I haven’t the faintest idea, Lance. I’m sure it’s nothing too bad. I did see a few winky faces on the front.” 

Lance eyes the envelope nervously. Intrigued but also a little scared, he slowly opens it and prepares for the worst. Instead of a terrifying ransom note or something else out of his nightmares, he finds a pile of printed photographs. Looking around quickly to make sure no other customers are waiting, he hesitantly flips the first one over.

When he sees Keith’s smiling face, it all begins to make sense.  _ These must be the pictures Pidge took yesterday _ , Lance rationalizes, grinning despite himself. He began to flip through the pile of photos, happily noting that there are two copies of each photo.  _ Damn, Pidge really does think of everything.  _ He makes a mental note to thank her next time he sees her.

There are pictures of the two of them posing normally, making stupid faces, and blurry candid shots that Pidge must’ve been taking just to spite Lance and capture his unholy awkwardness. He abruptly stops flipping through the pictures when he reaches the couple photos in front of the castle. He gulps, taking a deep breath and revealing the rest of the photo. Immediately, the air is sucked right out of his lungs. 

This is his first time seeing these photos, and  _ wow _ . Keith is dipped backwards perfectly, his arms wrapped securely around Lance’s neck. There’s barely any space between them. Lance swallows the lump forming in this throat. They’re staring into each other’s eyes and grinning softly, the sides of Keith’s mouth quirked upward and Lance’s lips parted (probably in shock as he realized how close he was to Keith). Somehow, Pidge managed to capture the intimacy of the moment in a simple picture and Lance is suddenly sweating all over again. 

As he looks at the picture, he remembers how close he was to kissing Keith. He could’ve just leaned down and he would’ve been right  _ there _ . And he almost did. If Pidge had only waited ten more seconds before calling them off, this picture might’ve looked a lot different. Lance can still visualize the way Keith had lifted his eyebrow, almost  _ challenging _ him to do it, before Pidge interrupted. 

He takes a shaky breath, suddenly feeling warm all over again. Lance rubs the back of his neck slowly, remembering the feeling of Keith’s strong arms wrapped around him. Yeah, he is so totally whipped. 

They look exactly like a cliché Disney couple, all starry-eyed and adorable, and Lance’s heart swells. Looking at this picture, it looks like they’re  _ together _ . Which is exactly what Lance has wanted this entire time. Now that he actually knows what it feels like to kiss Keith, these pictures are even more incredible. 

He flips through the next few pictures, ignoring the pounding of his heart and the heat on his face. There are a few different versions of the castle poses, including even more candids of Lance before and after the pose which make him look like a flustered mess. Thanks to Pidge, the nervous smile he was wearing as he stood in front of Keith beforehand and the open-mouthed disbelief on his face afterwards have been forever captured on film. 

Lance works his way through the rest of the castle shots slowly, paying extra attention to detail—Keith’s loose strands of hair, his dimples, his strong arms, his smile. 

But he pays special attention to the candid pictures. One shows Keith’s head tilted back in a full-belly laugh and Lance grinning softly beside him, looking like a lovesick idiot as usual. Another one shows Keith watching Lance with a fond smile as he says something to the camera. He secretly decides that these candids deserve a special place on his photo board at home. 

In every single photo he skims through, Lance has a huge smile on his face. It seems like he’s always smiling when he’s with Keith, whether it’s because the other boy says something funny or because Lance is unknowingly smiling fondly at him. These photos, although somewhat incriminating, truly show how much Lance likes Keith. 

And it’s almost embarrassing how much he likes him. 

The bell chimes above the doorway and Keith himself strides into the gift shop, shouldering his bag with a big smile on his face. He greets Lance at the counter, his cheeks tinted a pretty pink and his hair messy hair falling out of his ponytail.  _ He’s breathtaking. _ “You ready to go?”

Lance grins so hard his cheeks hurt, grabbing his own bag from behind the counter and walking around to meet Keith. He waves goodbye to Plaxum and Coran, dutifully ignoring the over-exaggerated wink of his manager as he leaves. “Yeah, I think I am.” 

In a moment of uncharacteristic boldness, Lance reaches forward to interlace his fingers with Keith’s as they head out the door. Keith leans closer as he does, rewarding him with a brilliant smile. As they walk, their clasped hands swing gently between them. 

Lance stands by his original statement:  _ Disney is definitely the most magical place on Earth.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUYS thank you so so much for reading this story?? I spent so much time writing this on and off for the past year that it feels SO GOOD to have it officially published :) pls feel free to leave a comment to let me know what you thought!! :)


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